Super late post from Friday, July 25th, 2014 hike.
So, for the past 2 months almost haha almost every weekend (Sat & Sun) and sometimes Friday going on hiking trips, and a few short trips here and there and a recent fat-gaining cruise during 4th with along with some birthday celebration lunch/dinners and a lot of cakes (YUM!!) and more eating, and then a wonderful experience first time attending Stampin' Up Convention...my body is finally getting use to all the crazy things that's been going on and I'm starting to get back into gear with posting. Sometimes you really do need a little break...so then you don't get too overwhelmed and it's okay to take a little break, but also good to be back blogging, especially crafting! Well, I have been, designing and crafting making duplicates of wedding invitations ;)
Today's hiking fun is...MOUNT SAINT HELENA...with my friends, Jennifer and Jessica. We had a wonderful time and man it was a good way to build our endurance ;)
|-- MOUNT SAINT HELENA TRAIL --|
Location: Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, 3801 St. Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA 94515
Difficulty: Difficult, but to us it was moderate
Length: 10.0 miles
Parking: Free. Heading from Hwy 29, you'll see a sign "Robert Louis Stevenson State Park" with an arrow pointing to the trail, parking is to your right (opposite from the arrow pointing to the trail).
Overview: A gaze upon the stunning breathtaking panorama view of Napa Valley wine country, but also the High Sierra and San Francisco Bay is at the top of 4,342 foot summit of Mount St. Helena. For the first easy mile, the Stevenson Memorial Trail winds through the forest. The next 4 miles in a well-graded fire road with little shades leading to the summit passing through power lines and transmitters and within that last half mile or less is a nice good steep incline to the beautiful view.
|-- Resources I've Used --|
- Every Trail Mount St. Helena
- Parks & Recreation - Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
|-- My Recommendation for Today's Hiking --|
Beside the usually good hiking shoes and a nice lunch or some power bars when you reach the summit to enjoy, also remember 2-3 bottles of water per person, carry sunblock as you may need to reapply, start early so you can also explore and have time to enjoy Napa Winery!
Oh! During the trail always stay on your right when you hike. After about 2 miles into the hike, you'll see an arrow pointing on the ground, follow that. Then about another 2 miles into the hike, the trail opens up two paths, there is a sign on the right covered, so take the right trail. The trail is easy to follow. Once you reach up there, there are a lot of transmitters, you'll know you've reached to the top to enjoy the beauty of the view of Napa Valley ;)
|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Overview --|
Time: Started at 7:30ish a.m., Finished a little earlier than 1 p.m.
Weather: about 70ish, breezy in the morning, going back the sun started beating on us
Our Overview: Today's hike is with Jennifer and Jessica - the hikers (weekly)!! We actually woke up at 4am, started heading out at 5isham. The drive was nice but once you started heading up the mountains, the road is a little windy so please drive safe. We got there at 730ish am and started hiking. Crazy? Yea, maybe a little. But we SUPER enjoyed it! And we were glad we started an early hike, because once we got done at around 12ish, it got hot and the sun was beating on us. The hike was easy to us and a good trail to train our endurances too, but maybe that's because we've been hiking and we compared to other hikes we've done, like Mission Peak, Stebbins Cold Canyon, etc. Mount St. Helena compared to Mission Peak , it's easier since it's steady gradual incline. We would recommend trying this trail first than hike Mission Peak. I enjoyed this hike since we were able to plan the rest of our day enjoying Napa Winery and some wood fire yummie pizza. It's a great way to start off your morning hiking with your friends and then go and eat some carbs and enjoy Napa! ;)
|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Pictures --|
Look at how silly we were! It's always fun to go hiking with these two! and I'm so glad they're not shy at all to KICK some poses and play STARRING or NON-STARRING contests ;)
Thanks Jennifer and Jessica!!! I had a lot of fun and thanks for dinner Jennifer at Azzurro Pizzeria at Napa, CA and Jessica for Dutch Bros Coffee near Davis, CA on our way back home ;)
|-- Please Note --|
Pictures were approved before posting. This is based on my personal hiking experiences. Make adjustments as you go on more hikes, personal research, who you go with and the weather makes a huge differences. In my opinion, no trail is too hard, as long as you enjoy, plan it, take it easy and most importantly HAVE FUN!!! You'll be GREAT!
Let me know if you have any questions. Please feel free to use the comments for questions. Your questions might be useful for others. Always feel free to share your photos too! Thanks!!!
Until soon! ;) Thanks for dropping by!!! =)
Love always, SMILE!!!
MUI HOANG
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